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Study: At least 11% of Geneva’s population has antibodies to SARS-CoV2

A new study in The Lancet shows that the population prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, grew in Geneva, Switzerland, in April from 5% to 11%.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Coronavirus spread among close, casual contacts in China

An investigation by Chinese and US scientists of a cluster of COVID-19 infections in China provides evidence that the coronavirus can spread through casual contacts at social gatherings.

Five more illnesses reported in new DRC Ebola outbreak

Officials reported five more illnesses and three more deaths in a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to figures reported today by the country's multisectoral Ebola response committee (CMRE).

The new developments raise the outbreak total to 17 cases, 14 of them confirmed and 3 listed as probable. The new deaths raise the fatality count to 11.

Wording change tied to fewer unneeded antibiotics for neonatal sepsis

A change in the wording of antibiotic duration orders for neonatal sepsis led to a substantial decrease in the number of infants who received extra unnecessary antibiotic orders, pharmacists at a hospital in British Columbia reported today in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Face masks allow virus-containing droplets to escape, study finds

In a study with implications for COVID-19 transmission, mild coughing can expel small saliva droplets through and around a face mask and travel as far as 1 meter (3.3 feet), according to a study published yesterday in Physics of Fluids.

Study links 2 gene clusters with increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness

A genomic analysis of hundreds of European patients who had severe cases of COVID-19 pointed to two gene clusters—one of them related to blood type—that seemed to be associated with severe disease, according to a report published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Study shows high SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate among Latinos

More than 40% of Latinos in the Baltimore-Washington, DC metropolitan region who were tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were positive, a rate far higher than for any other racial/ethnic group, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reported yesterday in JAMA.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Analysis shows US antibiotic use still heavily tilted toward livestock

A comparison of antibiotic sales data by members of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) shows that cattle and swine on US farms consume 44% more of medically important antibiotics than do humans.

CARB-X to fund topical antibiotic for surgical, wound infections

CARB-X today announced $4.6 million in funding to expand development of two topical antimicrobial products that target serious surgical and traumatic wound infections.

Rapid blood culture test tied to improved antibiotic therapy at children's hospital

The implementation of a rapid diagnostic testing platform at a children's hospital, coupled with real-time antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) result notification, was associated with improved antibiotic management of hospitalized children with gram-positive blood culture isolates, researchers reported today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

Airborne SARS-CoV-2 more efficient than SARS, MERs viruses, study shows

Aerosolized SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, remained infectious for as long as 16 hours, according to a study published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Using nebulizers and a custom-built rotating drum, US researchers aerosolized the viruses once each in primate head-only exposure chambers or 30-liter rodent chambers in four aerobiology laboratories.

One more Ebola case reported in newest DRC outbreak

One more case has been reported in the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), raising the total to 24, the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office said today on Twitter.

Public-private partnership aims to boost AMR surveillance in Africa

Pfizer and Wellcome Trust yesterday announced a new partnership with the governments of Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, and Uganda to track antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in those countries.

Chilblains unrelated to COVID-19 infection, 2 studies conclude

Chilblains—which in this pandemic have been referred to as "COVID toes"—are not a sign of COVID-19 infection but rather a result of sedentary lifestyles linked to community lockdown measures and a lack of warm footwear, two small studies published today in JAMA Dermatology have found.

WHO declares end to DRC Ebola public health emergency

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) 10th Ebola outbreak—declared over by national health officials yesterday—no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations, a World Health Organization (WHO) emergency committee announced today.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Public-private partnership aims to boost AMR surveillance in Africa

Originally published by CIDRAP News Jun 25

Pfizer and Wellcome Trust yesterday announced a new partnership with the governments of Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, and Uganda to track antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in those countries.

COVID-19 pediatric patients fare better than adults, meta-analysis shows

A meta-analysis of 7,780 children in 26 countries published late last week in EClinicalMedicine has found that 19% had no symptoms, 3% required intensive care, and only 0.1% died in the first 4 months of the pandemic.

Official COVID-19 case counts are rising only in the Western Pacific region globally—mainly due to transmission in South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

The HIV researcher, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will replace Anthony Fauci, MD, who retired at the end of last year.

Nigeria also reported a new case of vaccine-derived polio this week, and three other countries reported positive environmental samples.

The CDC is recommending a dose of the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab to protect against severe illness caused by RSV.

Several of the El Nino health risks are due to water contamination, either from flooding or drought. Malnutrition due to food insecurity was the top threat.

Using long-read sequencing, the group found that 15% of E coli O157:H7 fecal samples harbored AMR genes. 

Flu activity is on the downslope in the Southern Hemisphere, and globally influenza A is dominant with H3N2 and H1N1 proportions nearly equal among subtyped samples.